Methods and systems for providing transitory, communication-specific access to records to determine record modifications when processing electronic communications over computer networks

ABSTRACT

A method for providing transitory, communication-specific access to records to determine record modifications when processing electronic communications through an automated clearing house (“ACH”) over computer networks. After receiving an ACH communication, the method may receive, via the source record, communication data from a communication provider indicating an attempted communication using an ACH communication format provided by the source record, wherein the communication data includes a communication processing load offset, data identifying the destination record, and data identifying a communication type.

BACKGROUND

The amount and variety in electronic communications has expanded rapidlyin prior years. As the amount and variety increases, computer networksare constantly struggling with ways to manage and increase efficiencyfor processing communications. A key technical hurdle to overcoming thisproblem is preventing bottlenecks along a communication path (e.g., theroute of computer nodes through a computer network). To complicate thisproblem, each node along the route (which may correspond to anindividual server, isolated network, etc.) may create a potentialbottleneck based on its available resources, functions that may need tobe performed on the communications, and/or whether or not the node isawaiting information (e.g., from another node) used to complete itsprocessing.

To further complicate this technical problem, computer networks aredynamic and bottlenecks and/or the potential for bottlenecks is bothfluid and dependent on real-time developments. These real-timedevelopments may also be communication-specific as the functionsrequired to be performed on a given communication may be unique to thatcommunication. Furthermore, as these functions are unique to thecommunication, a computer node may not be aware of the functions (e.g.,what record modifications) are needed (or the processing load requiredto make such modifications) to handle the communication.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, methods and systems are described herein for improvementsto processing electronic communications over computer networks. Inparticular, the methods and systems related to providing transitory,communication-specific access to records to determine recordmodifications. The methods and systems are specifically relevant whenprocessing electronic communications through an automated clearing house(“ACH”) over computer networks. For example, automated clearing housesmay process communications automatically to reduce bottlenecks andimprove efficiency. However, the use of these automated processes, alsoreduces the flexibility of the system to customize responses that arecommunication specific. For example, as the process is automated,information related to the communication may not be available. As such,subsequent communications and/or responses based on the receipt of thecommunication (e.g., record modifications) may not have the appropriatetriggers.

To overcome this technical problem, the system establishes a parallelcommunication that is keyed to an attempted communication. Inparticular, the parallel communication may provide a destination record(e.g., at a destination server that is scheduled to handle thecommunication) a predetermined processing load offset at a predeterminedtime prior to the communication being generated by a communicationprovider. The system may then process the attempted communication usingthe predetermined processing load offset. Furthermore, the system maymaintain flexibility in that the amount (or percentage) of theprocessing load offset may be specific to each communication (e.g.,based on communication data that identifies a communication type). Forexample, the system may determine based on metadata for thecommunication what process load offset to apply to a processingbandwidth at a destination source.

In some aspects, methods and systems for providing transitory,communication-specific access to records to determine recordmodifications when processing electronic communications through anautomated clearing house (“ACH”) over computer networks are described.For example, the system may receive an ACH communication, at adestination record from a source record, via a communication link at apredetermined time for a predetermined processing load offset. Thesystem may adjust destination record data associated with thedestination record by increasing a processing bandwidth of thedestination record by the predetermined processing load offset. Thesystem may, after receiving the ACH communication, receive, via thesource record, communication data from a communication providerindicating an attempted communication using an ACH communication formatprovided by the source record, wherein the communication data includes acommunication processing load offset, data identifying the destinationrecord, and data identifying a communication type. The system mayprocess the attempted communication using the predetermined processingload offset, wherein processing the attempted communication includesprocessing the attempted communication with an offset rate, wherein theoffset rate is a percentage of the communication processing load offset,and wherein the percentage is based on the communication type.

Various other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will beapparent through the detailed description of the invention and thedrawings attached hereto. It is also to be understood that both theforegoing general description and the following detailed description areexamples and not restrictive of the scope of the invention. As used inthe specification and in the claims, the singular forms of “a,” “an,”and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. In addition, as used in the specification and the claims, theterm “or” means “and/or” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present application can be more fully understood by reading thefollowing detailed description of the presently preferred embodimentstogether with the accompanying drawings, in which like referenceindicators are used to designate like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary transaction system according to theexemplary embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for processing atransaction according to the exemplary embodiments of the presentapplication;

FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary flow diagram for processing atransaction according to the exemplary embodiments of the presentapplication;

FIG. 4 illustrates in more detail the exemplary transaction system shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary transaction system; and

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary webpage providing an account holder theability to view a pending transaction and to challenge the validity ofthat transaction;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments of the invention. It will beappreciated, however, by those having skill in the art that theembodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specificdetails or with an equivalent arrangement. In other cases, well-knownstructures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of the invention.

As described above, methods and systems are described herein forimprovements to processing electronic communications over computernetworks. In particular, the methods and systems related to providingtransitory, communication-specific access to records to determine recordmodifications. The methods and systems are specifically relevant whenprocessing electronic communications through an automated clearing house(“ACH”) over computer networks. For example, automated clearing housesmay process communications automatically to reduce bottlenecks andimprove efficiency. However, the use of these automated processes, alsoreduces the flexibility of the system to customize responses that arecommunication specific. For example, as the process is automated,information related to the communication may not be available. As such,subsequent communications and/or responses based on the receipt of thecommunication (e.g., record modifications) may not have the appropriatetriggers.

To overcome this technical problem, the system establishes a parallelcommunication that is keyed to an attempted communication. Inparticular, the parallel communication may provide a destination record(e.g., at a destination server that is scheduled to handle thecommunication) a predetermined processing load offset at a predeterminedtime prior to the communication being generated by a communicationprovider. The system may then process the attempted communication usingthe predetermined processing load offset. Furthermore, the system maymaintain flexibility in that the amount (or percentage) of theprocessing load offset may be specific to each communication (e.g.,based on communication data that identifies a communication type). Forexample, the system may determine, based on metadata for thecommunication, what process load offset to apply to a processingbandwidth at a destination source.

The systems methods may be applied to any type of communication in whichcommunication-specific information about the communication may triggeradditional functions. For example, in some embodiments, the systems andmethods may be used to allow ACH transactions (e.g., ACH communications)to generate interchange revenue (e.g., determine processing loadproportions) and, thus, provide membership rewards (e.g., account recordmodifications). For example, ACH transactions generate littleinterchange revenue as the interchange revenue would be paid by amerchant (e.g., communication provider) to a credit card provider (e.g.,a source account and/or source record holder), and in ACH transactions,there is no credit card provider. This poses problems for membershiprewards programs that are funded by interchange revenue, andspecifically, ACH transaction cards. In such cases, the embodimentsdescribed herein solve this problem by establishing a paralleltransaction that is keyed of an attempted transaction using an ACHtransaction card (e.g., an ACH communication format provided by thesource record). To key the parallel transaction to an ACH transaction,the embodiments introduce several unconventional technical features.First, prior to any attempted transaction, the embodiments recitereceiving ACH transfers, at a destination account from a source account,at predetermined times for predetermined amounts. Second, theembodiments recite including additional data (e.g., a user selection ofa credit card or debit card purchase) in conventional transaction datawhich indicates a type of the transaction (e.g., credit or ACH). Third,the system may determine an interchange rate percentage (e.g., an offsetrate) based on the type using the predetermined amount (e.g.,predetermined processing load offset) previously sent (e.g., allottedfor). Through the additions of these unconventional technical features,the embodiments establish a parallel transaction that is keyed of anattempted transaction using an ACH transaction card.

Credit cards, debit cards and other types of transaction cards arecommonly used today by consumers to fund transactions at or withmerchants. When credit cards and debit cards are used by consumers,interchange rates are routinely imposed by a bankcard association. Aninterchange rate is generally a percentage of a transaction amount andthe percentage is set by the bankcard association. Acquiring banks arecharged the interchange rate for a consumer transaction by the cardassociation. An acquiring bank is a financial institution that contractswith merchants to settle electronic transactions. For credit cardtransactions, an acquiring bank provides the merchant with its creditcard processing account. This acquiring bank sends credit card andpurchase information for transactions to a card association (such asVisa® and MasterCard®), which forwards it to the issuer associated withthe credit card. The card association also collects interchange revenuedue to the interchange rate imposed for each transaction associated withthe respective credit or debit card and forwards at least a portion ofthat revenue to the issuer. Interchange rates for credit cardtransactions are commonly higher than interchange rates for debit cards.

Also commonly used today in the banking industry is ACH transactions.ACH is a form of electronic payment. Specifically, ACH is an electronicfund transfer through an ACH network including the Federal Reserve Bankfrom one account to another account, such as to a checking or savingsaccount. ACH is typically used to process payments for settlement withinone or two business days. ACH transactions are settled in a mannersimilar to the way checks are settled: the clearinghouse takes all ACHfiles received daily from its member banks, sorts them by theoriginating bank (the bank where the check was cashed or deposited) andthe paying bank (the bank against which the check was drawn), totals theaccounts, and credits or debits appropriate accounts accordingly. Acompany can issue an ACH debit for a purchase amount through the ACHnetwork to a customer's account at the customer's bank. A company canalso initiate a purchase upon receipt of an ACH credit.

Numerous financial institutions, such as credit card companies andbanks, and other companies, such as airline carriers, hotels andretailers, offer membership reward programs to their customers.Traditionally, membership reward programs are funded at least in part bythe interchange revenue collected by the respective financialinstitution. These membership reward programs often provide theirparticipants the ability to earn and accumulate units or portionsthereof that are operable as currency, such as points, stars and miles.Participants earn such units, for example, when conducting transactionswith a qualified account or engaging services with the qualifiedaccount. The units are redeemable for merchandise or services withparticipating merchants. Further, these membership reward programs offerother rewards to participants for being enrolled in the respectivereward program that do not involve the redemption of points or the like,such as a companion airline ticket upon purchasing an airline ticketwith a qualified account. Depending on the reward program enrolled in bya participant, certain rewards may not be available to the respectiveparticipant. For instance, program X may not offer particularmerchandise or services to its participants, whereas program Y doesoffer such merchandise or services. A participant may use a transactioncard associated with the qualified account to conduct the respectivetransaction. Reward units typically accrue at a rate of one unit forevery dollar spent using the account and the accrued units operate ascurrency. Some entities restrict purchasing to particular merchants toearn reward units, whereas other financial institutions have no suchrestrictions. The maximum reward units a participant can earn annuallyare usually unlimited. Sometimes, however, a cap is imposed on theamount of reward units a participant can earn. Additionally, rewardunits usually do not accumulate on cash advances, convenience checks,balance transfers, fees or adjustments. When merchandise purchased withthe respective account is returned, the account credit will result in areduction of reward units.

Participants usually seek to accumulate enough reward units to purchasemerchandise or services. For instance, a participant may seek toaccumulate enough reward units to purchase a particular product from anassociated merchant or purchase an airline ticket from anotherassociated merchant. Depending on the program, only certain merchantsare considered qualified merchants with whom reward units can beredeemed towards a purchase.

Membership reward programs also often offer participants other rewards,incentives or the like instead of or in addition to the ability toaccumulate reward units. For example, some membership reward programsreturn to a participant a predetermined percentage of a transactionamount or of an amount spent during a predetermined period (referred toas “cash back”) either as a credit to an account or by check, offerparticipants discounts on select merchandise or services, andcomplimentary merchandise or services.

Typically, participants earn rewards when using transaction cardsassociated with a credit line, such as conventional credit cards. Fewdebit card issuers, however, offer rewards for use of their debit cardsat least in part because companies like Mastercard® and Visa® collectlower interchange revenue from merchants and consequently pay less tothe respective issuers. As a result, debit card issuers do not havesufficient revenue to fund programs such as rewards programs. Moreover,consumers commonly obtain their debit cards from the same banks whichprovide their checking or other demand deposit account.

Therefore, a need exists for a system and method that utilizes atransaction vehicle, for instance, a transaction card with aninterchange rate, associated with a destination account, the destinationaccount being funded on a predetermined basis, such as daily, weekly ormonthly, through ACH or otherwise by another account associated with theissuer of the transaction vehicle or a different financial institution.There is also a need to offer an account holder debit functionalitylinked to an account, such as the destination account, yet provide apredetermined delay before a transaction is funded through ACH orotherwise and a system and method for the account holder to challengethe validity of that respective transaction during the predetermineddelay. Accordingly, the account holder is provided with enhanced fraudprotection.

Today, credit cards, debit cards and other types of transaction cardsare commonly used by consumers to fund transactions at or withmerchants. When credit cards and debit cards are used by consumers,interchange rates are routinely imposed by a bankcard association. Aninterchange rate is generally a percentage of a transaction amount andthe percentage is set by the bankcard association. Acquiring banks arecharged the interchange rate for a consumer transaction by the cardassociation. An acquiring bank is a financial institution that contractswith merchants to settle electronic transactions. For credit cardtransactions, an acquiring bank provides the merchant with its creditcard processing account. This acquiring bank sends credit card andpurchase information for transactions to a card association (such asVisa® and MasterCard®), which forwards it to the issuer associated withthe credit card. The card association also collects interchange revenuedue to the interchange rate imposed for each transaction associated withthe respective credit or debit card and forwards at least a portion ofthat revenue to the issuer. Interchange rates for credit cardtransactions are commonly higher than interchange rates for debit cards.

Also commonly used today in the banking industry is automated clearinghouse (“ACH”) transactions. ACH is a form of electronic payment.Specifically, ACH is an electronic fund transfer through an ACH networkincluding the Federal Reserve Bank from one account to another account,such as to a checking or savings account. ACH is typically used toprocess payments for settlement within one or two business days. ACHtransactions are settled in a manner similar to the way checks aresettled: The clearinghouse takes all ACH files received daily from itsmember banks, sorts them by the originating bank (the bank where thecheck was cashed or deposited) and the paying bank (the bank againstwhich the check was drawn), totals the accounts, and credits or debitsappropriate accounts accordingly. A company can issue an ACH debit for apurchase amount through the ACH network to a customer's account at thecustomer's bank. A company can also initiate a purchase upon receipt ofan ACH credit.

Numerous financial institutions, such as credit card companies andbanks, and other companies, such as airline carriers, hotels andretailers, offer membership reward programs to their customers.Traditionally, membership reward programs are funded at least in part bythe interchange revenue collected by the respective financialinstitution. These membership reward programs often provide theirparticipants the ability to earn and accumulate units or portionsthereof that are operable as currency, such as points, stars and miles.Participants earn such units, for example, when conducting transactionswith a qualified account or engaging services with the qualifiedaccount. The units are redeemable for merchandise or services withparticipating merchants. Further, these membership reward programs offerother rewards to participants for being enrolled in the respectivereward program that do not involve the redemption of points or the like,such as a companion airline ticket upon purchasing an airline ticketwith a qualified account. Depending on the reward program enrolled in bya participant, certain rewards may not be available to the respectiveparticipant. For instance, program X may not offer particularmerchandise or services to its participants, whereas program Y doesoffer such merchandise or services. A participant may use a transactioncard associated with the qualified account to conduct the respectivetransaction. Reward units typically accrue at a rate of one unit forevery dollar spent using the account and the accrued units operate ascurrency. Some entities restrict purchasing to particular merchants toearn reward units, whereas other financial institutions have no suchrestrictions. The maximum reward units a participant can earn annuallyare usually unlimited. Sometimes, however, a cap is imposed on theamount of reward units a participant can earn. Additionally, rewardunits usually do not accumulate on cash advances, convenience checks,balance transfers, fees or adjustments. When merchandise purchased withthe respective account is returned, the account credit will result in areduction of reward units.

Participants usually seek to accumulate enough reward units to purchasemerchandise or services. For instance, a participant may seek toaccumulate enough reward units to purchase a particular product from anassociated merchant or purchase an airline ticket from anotherassociated merchant. Depending on the program, only certain merchantsare considered qualified merchants with whom reward units can beredeemed towards a purchase.

Membership reward programs also often offer participants other rewards,incentives or the like instead of or in addition to the ability toaccumulate reward units. For example, some membership reward programsreturn to a participant a predetermined percentage of a transactionamount or of an amount spent during a predetermined period (referred toas “cash back”) either as a credit to an account or by check, offerparticipants discounts on select merchandise or services, andcomplimentary merchandise or services.

Typically, participants earn rewards when using transaction cardsassociated with a credit line, such as conventional credit cards. Fewdebit card issuers, however, offer rewards for use of their debit cardsat least in part because companies like Mastercard® and Visa® collectlower interchange revenue from merchants and consequently pay less tothe respective issuers. As a result, debit card issuers do not havesufficient revenue to fund programs such as rewards programs. Moreover,consumers commonly obtain their debit cards from the same banks whichprovide their checking or other demand deposit account.

Therefore, a need exists for a system and method that utilizes atransaction vehicle, for instance, a transaction card with aninterchange rate, associated with a destination account, the destinationaccount being funded on a predetermined basis, such as daily, weekly ormonthly, through ACH or otherwise by another account associated with theissuer of the transaction vehicle or a different financial institution.There is also a need to offer an account holder debit functionalitylinked to an account, such as the destination account, yet provide apredetermined delay before a transaction is funded through ACH orotherwise and a system and method for the account holder to challengethe validity of that respective transaction during the predetermineddelay. Accordingly, the account holder is provided with enhanced fraudprotection.

The exemplary embodiments of the present application are described withreference to an account holder having a plurality of accounts, includinga destination account, and having the ability to access the destinationaccount with various transaction vehicles, including, for instance, theuse of at least one associated transaction card. The account holder canuse the transaction card or other transaction vehicle, for example, tomake a purchase at or with a merchant. The appearance of the transactionvehicle can represent a credit card, a debit card, an ATM card, a smartcard and a fob, for instance a radio frequency identification (“RFID”)key fob, and, thus, is not meant to be limited to any particular type ofcard or other device and associated account. Transactions conducted withcertain types of transaction vehicles, however, are processed using aninterchange rate, as described herein in more detail. As is well knownin the art, some transactions can be conducted without presenting aphysical transaction vehicle at a point-of-sale (“POS”). Rather, anaccount holder can present a predetermined number or alphanumericcombination of letters and numbers associated with one or more accountsto perform a transaction. Further, transaction vehicles can beadministered by various companies, such as banks, credit card companies,or other institutions or companies.

As described above, the exemplary embodiments of the present applicationare described with reference to an account holder having a destinationaccount that can be accessed with a variety of transaction vehicles,including, for instance, using a transaction card. The destinationaccount can be funded by one or more source accounts previouslyspecified by the account holder. The account holder can add to or removefrom the list of available one or more source accounts linked to thedestination account. In an exemplary embodiment, the destination accountis funded to cover an amount of a transaction after the account holderinitiates the transaction.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary transaction system 100 according to theexemplary embodiments of the present application. Transaction system 100includes merchant 110, financial institution A 125 in communication,either directly or indirectly, with merchant 110 via communication link115, for example, a debit network, a credit network or a debit andcredit network, and financial institution B 150. Communication link 115or a portion of communication link 115 can be a landline link, awireless link or a combination thereof. Financial institution A 125includes processing unit 120, interest determination unit 130, rewarddetermination unit 135 and memory unit 170 having stored therein sourceaccount data 140 and destination account data 145. Source account datais associated with at least one source account, including for instancesource account 425, and destination account data 145 is associated withdestination account 410, depicted in FIG. 4. Alternatively, thefunctionality provided by interest determination unit 130 and rewarddetermination unit 135 can instead be provided by processing unit 120 orin conjunction with processing unit 120. Financial institution B 150includes processing unit 155 in communication, either directly orindirectly, with memory unit 160 having stored therein source accountdata 175. Source account data 175 is associated with at least one sourceaccount, including for instance source account 415, also shown in FIG.4. Destination account 410 can also be associated with a third partyinstead of financial institution A 125.

Financial institution A 125 transmits data to and receives data, forinstance, transfer 435 as shown in FIG. 4, from financial institution B150 via communication link 165. The use of communication link 115, suchas a debit network, a credit network or a debit and credit network, fortransmitting and for processing credit and debit transaction data iswell known in the art and, therefore, is not described in detail herein.Similarly, the use of communication link 165, such as an ACH network,for transmitting and for processing transfer 435 is well known in theart and, hence, is also not described in detail herein. The presentapplication is not limited to using an ACH network to transfer funds inor out of a destination account and a debit network, a credit network ora debit and credit network for an account holder to access thedestination account. Rather, funds can be transferred in or out of thedestination account in any manner. Exemplary communication links fortransferring funds in or out of the destination account include wiring,ACH, electronic funds transfer, ATM networks, Visa®, MasterCard® or thelike.

Transaction card 105 is operable for account holder 180 to purchase ator with merchant 110 to cause data to be transmitted to and fromfinancial institution A 125 regarding that transaction. Financialinstitution A 125 issues to account holder 180 transaction card 105,financial institution A 125 being a credit card company, a bank, amortgage company or any other type of financial institution or company.Like financial institution A 125, financial institution B 150 is linkedto financial institution A 125 and can be a credit card company, a bank,a mortgage company or any other type of financial institution orcompany.

Memory unit 170 and memory unit 160 associated with financialinstitution A 125 and financial institution B 150, respectively, caninclude various types of memory storage devices, for example, one ormore databases, relational or otherwise and, therefore, is not meant tobe limited to any particular type of storage device or quantity ofstorage devices operating alone or in combination. Memory unit 170stores data including, for instance, source account data 140 anddestination account data 145, and memory unit 160 stores data including,for example, source account data 175. As will be appreciated by a personhaving ordinary skill in the art, memory unit 170 and memory unit 160can store other data associated with account holder 180, such aspersonal data, transaction history data, security data and dataassociated with accumulated and redeemed rewards. Memory unit 170 and/ormemory unit 160 can also store data associated with one or moreadditional source accounts that are linked to the destination account,the one or more additional source accounts being associated withfinancial institution A 125 and/or financial institution B 150. As willbe described in more detail herein, a source account can be associatedwith another entity besides financial institution A 125 and financialinstitution B 150, as described in the present application, withreference to FIG. 5.

Communication link 115 can be a debit network, a credit network or adebit and credit network including the MasterCard®/Visa® network orother proprietary networks, such as Plus, Novus (debit), Diner's Club®(credit) and American Express®, the operation and use of which are wellknown in the art and are, thus, not described herein. Transaction dataassociated with a transaction between account holder 180 and merchant110 is transmitted using communication link 115. The present applicationis not limited to using a debit network, a credit network or a debit andcredit network or other proprietary networks. Rather, an ACH network,Internet based payment networks, processor based payment networks, forinstance, the First Data network, could be used instead of or incombination with the debit network, the credit network or the debit andcredit network. For instance, transaction data can also be transmittedthrough an Internet link, through an email link and through a telephonelink instead of a debit/credit network or in combination with adebit/credit network.

The components of FIG. 1 may be implemented through hardware, software,and/or firmware. The components in transaction system 100 are notlimited to those illustrated.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for processing and forfunding a transaction according to the exemplary embodiments of thepresent application. Financial institution A 125 is in communicationwith financial institution B 150 so that funds can be electronicallytransferred to or from the respective financial institution viacommunication link 165. In an exemplary embodiment, fund transfers occurautomatically on a recurring basis at a predetermined time, forinstance, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, or a combination thereof, asdescribed herein in more detail. Alternatively, fund transfers can occurupon request, as opposed to automatically, for example, by accountholder 180, by financial institution A 125 and/or by financialinstitution B 150, also described herein in more detail with referenceto FIG. 3.

In FIG. 2, transfer 435 occurs automatically at a predetermined time fora predetermined amount before a transaction is attempted by accountholder 180. The automatic transfer 435 is either initiated by financialinstitution A 125 via request 430, described herein with reference to205-215, or is initiated by financial institution B 165, as describedherein with reference to 220-225. When initiated by financialinstitution A 125 by request 430, a predetermined amount of funds arerequested by processing unit 120 to be transferred to destinationaccount 410 associated with financial institution A 125 from sourceaccount 415 associated with financial institution B 150, in 205, asshown in FIG. 2. Processing unit 120 receives the requested transferfrom financial institution B 150, in 210, and updates destinationaccount data 145 stored in memory unit 170 associated with accountholder 180 by increasing the stored balance data by the amount oftransfer 435, in 215. Further, processing unit 155 of financialinstitution B 150 updates source account 415, in particular, sourceaccount data 175 stored in memory unit 160, also associated with accountholder 180 by decreasing the stored balance data by the amount oftransfer 435. In an exemplary embodiment of the present application, theamount of the automatic transfer 435 is determined by the respectiveaccount holder, for instance, account holder 180, and the predeterminedtime, for instance, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, when transfer 435occurs is also determined by that account holder. Alternatively, theamount of transfer 435 is not predetermined by account holder 180.

When financial institution B 150 initiates transfer 435, processing unit155 of financial institution B 150 automatically transfers thepredetermined amount of funds from source account 415 to destinationaccount 410 at financial institution A 125 at the predetermined time viatransfer 435 through communication link 165. Transfer 435 is received byprocessing unit 120, in 220. Similar to when financial institution A 125initiates transfer 435, processing unit 120 adjusts destination accountdata 145 including the balance data by increasing the balance data bythe amount of transfer 435, in 225. Also, processing unit 155 adjustssource account data 175 by decreasing the stored balance data by theamount of transfer 435.

Thus, processing unit 120 of financial institution A 125 canautomatically request the transfer of the predetermined amount of fundsfrom source account 415 to destination account 410 via transfer 435 atthe predetermined time or processing unit 155 of financial institution B150 can automatically transfer the predetermined amount of funds fromsource account 415 to destination account 410 at financial institution A125 via transfer 435 at the predetermined time, as described herein. Inboth instances, an account balance of destination account 410 isincreased which is reflected by destination account data 145 stored inmemory unit 170. Accordingly, funds will be available for account holder180 to conduct at least one transaction at or with merchant 110. Thetransaction may have imposed thereon a credit card interchange rate iftransaction card 105 is, for instance, operable as a credit card.Alternatively, an interchange rate other than a credit card interchangerate is imposed, for instance, a debit card interchange rate. In afurther alternative embodiment, the transaction is not imposed with anyinterchange rate regardless whether the transaction is initiated byaccount holder 180 with a transaction card or without a transaction cardor other transaction vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, after the occurrence of transfer 435, account holder180 can present transaction card 105 to merchant 110, for instance, at aPOS for conducting a transaction with merchant 110. A device or deviceslocated at merchant 110, such as a POS terminal, read a magnetic stripelocated on transaction card 105 or a memory unit located on transactioncard 105 if transaction card 105 is a smart card or the like.Transaction data including at least a transaction amount and an accountnumber associated with transaction card 105 is received by processingunit 120 of financial institution A 125 via communication link 115, in230. In an exemplary embodiment, the received account number isassociated with destination account 410 and destination account data 145stored in memory unit 170. The account number, however, can beassociated with another account linked to destination account 410.

In transaction system 100, a credit card interchange rate may be imposedfor the transaction conducted by account holder 180 at merchant 110using transaction card 105. Accordingly, the interchange revenue earnedby the issuer of transaction card 105, for instance, financialinstitution A 125, may be greater than the interchange revenue earnedfrom a debit card interchange rate.

The present application, however, is not limited to using a transactionvehicle such as transaction card 105 to access destination account 410.Destination account 410 can be accessible to account holder 180 in avariety of ways including, for example, by check, via the Internet, viaan automated teller machine, via an RFID fob, in-person, for instance,at a bank branch or the like, by interacting with a customer servicerepresentative or voice response unit, a direct host-to-host connection,wireless communication with a bank processor, for example, viaBlackberry, a personal digital assistant or wireless telephone, or anyother method for accessing an account regardless of the type of account.Destination account 410 may be used, for instance, to make on-line billpayments.

Once the transaction data is received by processing unit 120, in 230,processing unit 120 processes the attempted transaction by accountholder 180, in 235. Specifically, processing unit 120 determines fromthe received transaction data the account number associated withtransaction card 105 used by account holder 180 at merchant 110 and thetransaction amount. Since in an exemplary embodiment the account numberis associated with destination account 410, processing unit 120 accessesdestination account data 145 stored in memory unit 170 to determinewhether to authorize the attempted transaction, in 240. Moreparticularly, processing unit 120 compares the balance of destinationaccount 410 to the transaction amount to determine whether the balanceis greater than or equal to the transaction amount. If the balance ofdestination account 410 is greater than or equal to the transactionamount, then processing unit 120 authorizes the attempted transactionand transmits authorization data to merchant 110 via communication link115, in 250. As will be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill inthe art, if account holder 180 initiated the transaction in a mannerthat does not necessitate the use of communication link 115,communication link 115 is not utilized, for example, if account holder180 initiates the transaction by check or in-person. If, however, thebalance of destination account 410 is less than the transaction amount,then processing unit 120 denies the attempted transaction and transmitsdenial data to merchant 110 via communication link 115, in 245.

Alternatively, if the balance of destination account 410 is less thanthe amount of the attempted transaction, a credit line associated withfinancial institution A 125 or financial institution B 150, or anotherdemand deposit account associated with account holder 180 is accessed byprocessing unit 120 to cover the amount of the attempted transaction ora portion thereof not covered by the balance of destination account 410.Account holder 180 can also be charged a predetermined transaction feefor utilizing the overdraft protection benefit associated withtransaction card 105. The credit line or demand deposit account may ormay not be linked to only destination account data 145 or be operablefor only serving an overdraft protection function.

Destination account 410 may have a balance reflected by destinationaccount data 145, described herein with reference to FIGS. 2-4. In anexemplary embodiment, if destination account 410 has a balance, accountholder 180 earns interest at a fixed or variable interest rate on theaccount balance. The fixed or variable interest rate can be determinedby financial institution A 125 or determined based in whole or in parton any other known method for determining interest rates on depositedfunds. Interest determination unit 130 determines an amount of interestthat has accrued on a balance of destination account data 145 at apredetermined time, for instance, on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearlybasis. Thereafter, processing unit 120 receives data from interestdetermination unit 130 indicating the accrued interest and stores thisdata in memory unit 170 in association with destination account 410 sothat destination account data 145 reflects the increase in the accountbalance.

In an alternative embodiment described in more detail herein withreference to FIG. 3, funds are transferred from source account 415 todestination account 410 by transfer 435 only upon request by accountholder 180 after (or before) a respective attempted transaction byaccount holder 180. In a further alternative embodiment, funds aretransferred from source account 415 to destination account 410 byfinancial institution A 125 or by financial institution B 150automatically after account holder 180 initiates the transaction withmerchant 110. For instance, upon processing unit 120 receiving data frommerchant 110 indicating a transaction amount, processing unit 120automatically transmits request 430 to processing unit 155 requesting atransfer equal to the transaction amount be transferred to destinationaccount 410. Alternatively, account holder 180 can contact financialinstitution A 125 or financial institution B 150 to request transfer 435for a specific amount of money at least equal to the transaction amount.Account holder 180 can also request when transfer 435 should occur toassure that the appropriate funds are present in destination account 410for covering the transaction amount and/or any future transactions usingtransaction card 105 or other transaction vehicle at merchant 110.

In the exemplary embodiments of the present application, the funds aretransferred out of destination account on a daily basis, hourly basis orless. As a result, destination account 410 is operable as a pass-throughaccount and, therefore, can have a balance for no period of time or fora limited period of time. As will be appreciated by a person havingordinary skill in the art, destination account 410 may not have fundsdeposited therein. Rather, destination account 410 may have, forexample, debit units or a negative amount so that the appropriateentity, such as financial institution A 125, keeps track of how much ispaid out and how much to request from the respective source account(s)of account holder 180.

FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary flow diagram for processing and forfunding a transaction according to the exemplary embodiments of thepresent application. As shown in FIG. 3, like the exemplary embodimentdescribed herein with reference to FIG. 2, transaction data including atleast a transaction amount and an account number is received byprocessing unit 120 of financial institution A 125 via communicationlink 115 or otherwise depending on the transaction vehicle used byaccount holder 180, in 310.

Processing unit 120 then requests transfer 435 by transmitting request430 for an amount equal to the transaction amount to be electronicallytransferred from source account 415 associated with financialinstitution B 150, or other source account as described in the presentapplication with reference to FIG. 5, to destination account 410associated with financial institution A 125, in 315. Transfer 435 canresult either from account holder 180 requesting the transfer or fromfinancial institution A 125 requesting the transfer. Processing unit 120through processing unit 155 associated with financial institution B 150checks the balance of source account 415, or through a processing unitof another financial institution if another source account is beingchecked, to determine if the respective source account is sufficient forfunding the transaction. As will be appreciated by a person havingordinary skill in the art, various systems and methods can be used tocheck the balance of an account associated with a third party and thepresent application is not meant to be limited to any particular systemor method. One exemplary system and method is offered by CashEdge. If itis determined that the balance or credit line of source account 415 issufficient to fund the transaction, then processing unit 120 thereafterreceives the funds through transfer 435 via communication link 165 orotherwise, in 320. If it is determined that the balance or credit lineof source account 415 is not sufficient to fund the transaction, acredit line associated with financial institution A 125 or financialinstitution B 150, or another demand account associated with accountholder 180 is accessed by processing unit 120 to cover the amount of theattempted transaction or a portion thereof. Account holder 180 can alsobe charged a predetermined transaction fee for utilizing the overdraftprotection benefit associated with transaction card 105. The credit lineor deposit account may or may not be linked to only destination accountdata 145 or be operable for only serving an overdraft protectionfunction. Also, the deposit account may or may not be a checkingaccount.

In the exemplary embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3,an account holder can be offered debit functionality linked to anaccount, such as destination account 410, yet provided a predetermineddelay before the transaction is funded through ACH or otherwise andprovided a system and method for the account holder to challenge thevalidity of the respective transaction during the predetermined delay.Accordingly, the account holder is provided with enhanced fraudprotection.

The predetermined delay is provided during the settlement phase of atransaction. The following is an exemplary transaction and settlementprocess for the exemplary embodiments described in the presentapplication and is used for explanatory purposes only and, therefore, isnot meant to limit the scope of the present application. In thefollowing example, the participants are financial institution A 125 (atransaction vehicle issuer), account holder 180, merchant 110, amerchant acquirer, a card association, a host system, financialinstitution B 150 (an account holder bank) and a third party agent. Therole of the merchant acquirer, the card association and the host systemin the transaction and settlement process are well known in the art and,therefore, are not described in detail in the present application andnot shown in the drawings.

Account holder 180 uses transaction card 105 at merchant 110 to make a$100 purchase. A POS terminal at merchant 110 sends a request forapproval to the merchant acquirer. The merchant acquirer forwards therequest for approval to the card association, for instance, forPIN/Debit networks, the request is sent to Star, Interlink, Maestro orCirrus, and for signature Debit, the request is sent to Visa® orMasterCard®. The card association routes the request for approval to thehost system. The host system, for instance, associated with First Data®Corporation or Metavante®, serves as the agent for financial institutionA 125. Alternatively, financial institution A 125 serves as the hostsystem.

The host system determines if account holder 180 is within a spendinglimit for the respective account, such as destination account 410. Thespending limit for a given day is provided to the host system in a batchfile by financial institution A 125 the night before. Alternatively, thehost system calculates an internal spending limit, including cumulativepurchases up until a final batch sent to financial institution A 125 atday's end. If within the spending limit, the host system sends approvalback to the card association, which returns approval to the merchantacquirer, which returns approval to merchant 110. If not within thespending limit, a decline is sent. Alternatively, the host system sendsan alert to account holder 180 notifying account holder 180 that he orshe is approaching the spending limit. Merchant 110 providesgoods/services to account holder 180.

An exemplary settlement process is as follows. The host system sends $98through the card association. The host system pulls money from thepooled account at financial institution A 125. The card associationforwards $97 to the merchant acquirer, that is, the card associationmakes $1. The merchant acquirer places $97 in an account of merchant110. The merchant acquirer makes money from the banking relationship orother contract with merchant 110. The host system sends an ACH requestto financial institution A 125 for payment of $98 on the $100 purchase.The ACH request is sent at the end of day, in batch, by account numberand amount spent for account holder 180. Alternatively, the ACH requestis sent real-time upon approval. The transaction vehicle issuer sends$98 to the host system either at the end of the day in batch oralternatively in real time.

Financial institution A 125 sends an ACH request to financialinstitution B 150 for $100. The ACH request, however, is sent after apredetermined delay. In the present application, the predetermined delayis not limited to any particular time and, therefore, can be any numberof hours or days. Also, the predetermined delay can commence whenpayment is made to the host system or otherwise. The predetermined delayprovides account holder 180 the ability to review one or moretransactions, for example, by accessing a web page, verify that thosetransactions are valid, for example, belong to account holder 180, andfunctionality for account holder 180 to challenge any one of thosetransactions if wrong before final withdraw from financial institution B150 or elsewhere. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary web page 600 thatprovides account holder 180 with the ability to challenge one or moretransactions. As can be seen in FIG. 6, account holder 180 can click onone or more of the hyperlinks d associated with one or more of therespective transactions to challenge that transaction. Account holder180 may be presented with a confirmation question to verify and confirmthat account holder 180 truly wants to challenge a respectivetransaction. As a result of clicking on a particular hyperlink duringthe predetermined period of delay, the funds are not removed from theaccount at the account holder bank. To determine whether a fraud hasbeen committed, any fraud resolution process, for instance, thoseprocesses known in the art that are implemented when an individualdisputes a debit transaction associated with a debit card or a credittransaction associated with a credit card, can be used with theexemplary embodiments of the present application. Such fraud resolutionprocesses are well known to a person having ordinary skill in the artand are, therefore, not described in detail in the present application.

Alternatively, a third party agent, for example, CashEdge, sends an ACHrequest to financial institution B 150 or elsewhere. The ACH requestscan be batched by account holder. In a further alternative embodiment,third party agent or other entity uses screen scraping to determine ifaccount holder 180 has enough available funds in the respective accountat financial institution B 150 or elsewhere to complete the ACH request;that is, a service such as CashEdge will login to financial institutionB 150 or elsewhere with account holder information provided by accountholder 180 and will check the balance from predetermined configurations.

If account holder 180 has insufficient funds in the account at financialinstitution B 150, the transaction vehicle issuer resends the ACHrequest, for instance, daily, to complete the draft until full funds areavailable. If or when account holder 180 has sufficient funds in theaccount at financial institution B 150 or elsewhere, the account holderbank sends $100 to transaction vehicle issuer from the account atfinancial institution B 150 or elsewhere. In this example, financialinstitution A 125 makes $2 on the transaction.

Additional source accounts other than source account 425 and sourceaccount 415 are linked to destination account 410 and can funddestination account 410, as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustratesfinancial institution A 125 being linked to a plurality of otherfinancial institutions-financial institutions. Accordingly, financialinstitution A 125 can submit requests to financial institutions,respectively, for funds to be transferred and financial institutions cantransmit fund transfers, respectively, to financial institution A 125.As will be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art,source account 425, source account 415 and any of the additional sourceaccounts can be replaced by account holder 180 or, alternatively,account holder 180 can add other source accounts as desired.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present application, processing unit120 associated with financial institution A 125 determines which sourceaccount or source accounts amongst the plurality of source accounts 425,415, 520 a . . . 520 n to submit a request for a fund transfer.Processing unit 120 can proceed in a predetermined sequential order whendetermining which of the plurality of source accounts to submit arequest or according to any other predefined instructions, or canrandomly select a source account amongst the plurality of sourceaccounts. For instance, processing unit 120 can access a predefinedsequential order stored in memory unit 170, source account 520 a beingfirst in the order. Thereafter, processing unit 120 requests transfer510 a by transmitting request 505 a for an amount equal to thetransaction amount to be electronically transferred from source account520 a associated with financial institution 515 a to destination account410 associated with financial institution A 125. If processing unit 120determines that the balance or credit line of source account 520 a isless than the transaction amount, then processing unit 120 can accessone or more other source accounts in the predefined sequential order forthe entire transaction amount or a portion thereof until the transactionamount can be funded. Furthermore, a source account may be chosen basedon transaction amount, based on transaction type, for example,point-of-sale, card not present, Internet or mail order, or based onmerchant type. A predetermined percentage from multiple source accountscan also be used to fund the transaction amount.

Again referring to FIG. 4, processing unit 120 updates destinationaccount data 145 stored in memory unit 170 associated with accountholder 180 by increasing the stored balance data by the amount oftransfer 435 or one or more other transfers, in 325. Further, processingunit 155 of financial institution B 150 updates source account data 175stored in memory unit 160, or one or more other source accounts, alsoassociated with account holder 180 by decreasing the stored balance databy the amount of the transfer. Processing unit 120 then authorizes theattempted transaction and transmits authorization data to merchant 110via communication link 115, in 330. Alternatively, the authorizationdata is transmitted before receiving funds in 320 or before requestingtransfer 435 or one or more other transfers in 315. Before or aftertransmitting the authorization data, processing unit 120 again updatesdestination account data 145 stored in memory unit 170 associated withaccount holder 180 by decreasing the stored balance data by thetransaction amount, in 325. In an alternative embodiment, processingunit 120 does not update the balance data of destination account 410,for instance, by first increasing the balance data and then decreasingthe balance data by the same amount, as described herein with referenceto 325 and 335. Rather, the balance data is not altered for the netresult of the balance is the same.

Besides requesting transfer 435, 510 a . . . 510 n on a per transactionbasis, transfer 435, 510 a . . . 510 n can occur once a day, forexample, at the end of the day, for an amount equal to the cumulativeamount of all transactions conducted by account holder 180 during thatrespective day. Alternatively, transfer 435, 510 a . . . 510 n can occurafter a predetermined number of hours or days have elapsed, the amountof transfer 435, 510 a-510 n equaling the cumulative amount of alltransactions conducted by account holder 180 during the predeterminednumber of hours or days preceding the transfer. Transaction system 100can also impose a transaction volume limit for destination account 410,for example, no more than a predetermined number of transactions byaccount holder 180 per day, and can impose a transaction amount limit ondestination account 410, for example, no transaction amounts exceeding apredetermined amount or the cumulative value of transactions over apredetermined period of time cannot exceed a particular amount.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present application, the sourceaccount from which a predetermined amount of money originates isassociated with financial institution A 125, as opposed to financialinstitution B 150. For example, source account data 140 associated withsource account 425 is stored in memory unit 170 of financial institutionA 125, as depicted in FIG. 1. As a result, processing unit 120 eitherautomatically or upon request by account holder 180 request transfersfrom source account 425 to destination account 410 or automaticallyreceives transfers from source account 425 as described herein withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As will be appreciated by a person havingordinary skill in the art, funds can be transferred internally within afinancial institution or funds can be transferred from one accountassociated with the institution to another account associated with thesame institution using communication link 165.

Destination account 410 may have a balance reflected by destinationaccount data 145, described herein with reference to FIGS. 2-5. In anexemplary embodiment, if destination account 410 has a balance, accountholder 180 earns interest at a fixed or variable interest rate on theaccount balance. For example, destination account 410 has a balance ifthe amount of transfer 435, 510 a . . . 510 n exceeds the amount of atransaction or transactions that need to be funded or the funds remaindeposited in destination account 410 for a period of time before thefunds are used to remunerate merchant 110. The fixed or variableinterest rate can be determined by financial institution A 125 ordetermined based in whole or in part on any other known method fordetermining interest rates on deposited funds. Interest determinationunit 130 determines an amount of interest that has accrued on a balanceof destination account 145 at a predetermined time, for instance, on adaily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Thereafter, processing unit 120receives data from interest determination unit 130 indicating theaccrued interest and stores this data in memory unit 170 in associationwith destination account 410 so that destination account data 145reflects the increase in the account balance.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, processing unit 120 is also coupled to rewarddetermination unit 135. In an exemplary embodiment, reward determinationunit 135 determines whether a respective account holder, for example,account holder 180, is entitled to a reward. If it is determined thataccount holder 180 is entitled to a reward, the particular reward isdetermined by reward determination unit 135 and then associated with anaccount, such as a reward account, of account holder 180 so that accountholder 180 can later redeem the reward.

Transactions conducted by account holder 180 using a transactionvehicle, such as transaction card 105 or an associated account number,are processed using an interchange rate, as described in the presentapplication. The use of a high interchange rate, for instance, a creditinterchange rate, as opposed to a lower interchange rate, such as adebit interchange rate, affords issuers, such as financial institution125, a financial benefit and these issuers extend reward opportunitiesassociated with a reward program to account holders like account holder180. As will be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in theart, any interchange rate which provides a greater financial benefit tothe respective financial institution can be used regardless of thenomenclature, for instance, regardless whether the interchange rate isreferred to as a credit or a debit interchange rate.

In an exemplary embodiment, account holder 180 participates in a rewardprogram associated with financial institution A 125 and thereby earnsrewards, incentives or the like, for instance, by engaging intransactions with merchants, such as merchant 110, using a transactionvehicle, such as transaction card 105, associated with a qualifiedfinancial account, for instance, destination account 410, and laterredeeming those accumulated rewards, incentives or the like withmerchant 110 or with other merchants. Under the reward program, accountholder 180 has the ability to earn a plurality of reward units, such aspoints, for example, for purchases with merchant 110 and other merchantsusing a qualified financial account—destination account 410 as describedherein.

The present application is applicable, to any institution or companyhaving a membership reward program associated therewith, includingfinancial institutions, airlines, supermarkets, hotels, car rentalcompanies, retail stores, Internet loyalty programs, loyalty providers,such as Carlson Companies, Inc. and Cendant Corporation, and Visa® andMasterCard® that offer rewards, incentives or the like. In an exemplaryembodiment of the present application, the membership reward program ismanaged directly by the institution or company, for instance, financialinstitution A 125. Alternatively, the membership reward program ismanaged by a third party associated with financial institution A 125.Financial institution A 125 may or may not be in a partnership with athird party and/or other party. For instance, in the event financialinstitution A 125 has a partnership relationship with the third partyand/or other party, the relationship may involve a co-branding.

The membership reward program can also be operable as an independentreward program, as an accelerator reward program, as a coalition rewardprogram or otherwise, or as a combination thereof. As would beappreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, when enrolledin an accelerator program, an account holder accelerates the earning ofreward units or the like in another reward program independent of theaccelerator program, for example, when conducting transactions with anaccount linked to the accelerator program. A coalition reward program,such as Upromise (www.upromise.com), is operable for account holders toearn rewards from a particular suite of merchants. Other reward programscan be associated with the coalition reward program. When an accountholder conducts a transaction with one of the merchants within the suiteusing one of these other reward programs, that account holder earnsadditional rewards. For instance, a reward program associated with acoalition reward program is operable for account holders to earn X% forevery transaction regardless of the merchant and an additional Y% fortransactions conducted with one of the merchants within the suite and anadditional Z% at another one of the merchants within the suite.

Accordingly, two or more membership reward programs can be linkedtogether so that account holder 180 earns reward units or the like in asingle rewards account from various sources.

The exemplary embodiments of the present application are describedherein with reference to reward units as being points, and earning andredeeming the same. The present application, however, is not limited topoints, as points are units merely symbolizing a form of currency foruse towards transactions. Hence, other symbols operable as currency areequally applicable to the exemplary embodiments of the presentapplication, for instance, miles, stars, dollars, cash, rebates orcredits.

In an exemplary embodiment, account holder 180 participating in themembership reward program earns (and redeems) points when conductingtransactions with merchant 110 and other merchants. These points areearned by account holder 180, for example, upon account holder 180conducting transactions with merchant 110 using destination account 410.Earning and redeeming currency units, such as points, associated with amembership reward program are well known in the art and are, therefore,not described in detail herein. Account holder 180 can also earn andredeem other rewards, including, for example, gift certificates,coupons, companion airplane tickets, or other goods or services. Thepresent application is not limited to these rewards, as they are merelyexemplary. Also, in an alternative embodiment, account holder 180 maynot participate with any reward program and, therefore, not have theability to earn and redeem rewards.

According to the embodiments described in the present application,transaction system 100 is operable for an institution (for example,financial institution A 125) other than the institution (for example,financial institution B 150) offering account holder 180 an account (forexample, source account 415), such as a checking account, to issue oneor more transaction vehicles, for example, a transaction card, linked tothis account through communication link 165. Destination account 410 isoperable as a pass-through account in that one or more source accounts,such as source accounts 425, 415, 520 a . . . 520 n, can be used to fundtransactions initiated with the transaction vehicle and, as a result,destination account 410 does not have a balance or has a balance for alimited period of time.

In an exemplary embodiment, when the transaction vehicle is transactioncard 105 and a credit interchange rate is used, to merchant 110,transaction card 105 appears as a credit card and is processed as acredit card since the credit card interchange rate is imposed on eachtransaction. To account holder 180, though, transaction card 105operates like a debit card, because with every transaction, at the endof each day or at some other time, a transaction, for example, an ACHtransaction, would debit source account 415 of account holder 180 forthe amount of the purchase(s). Hence, transaction card 105 is, forexample, a credit card behaving like a debit card due to the use of ACH.The use of communication link 165 enables account holder 180 flexibilityin that account holder 180 can get a transaction card from oneinstitution, for example, a credit card company, while having his or herdemand deposit account or other type of account at another institution,such as a bank.

The system may provide transitory, communication-specific access torecords to determine record modifications when processing electroniccommunications through an ACH over computer networks. For example, thesystem may comprise a source server comprising memory storing a sourcerecord corresponding to a user profile and format records indicating anACH communication format provided by the source record. The system mayalso comprise (or have access to) a communication link. The system mayalso comprise (or receive information generated by) a communicationprovider server configured to generate communications corresponding tothe user profile and a destination server.

The system may receive (e.g., control circuitry of one or more of thedevices) an ACH communication. For example, the system may receive anACH communication, at a destination record from a source record, via acommunication link at a predetermined time for a predeterminedprocessing load offset. In some embodiments (e.g., corresponding to theprocessing of an ACH transaction), the system may receive an ACHtransfer, at a destination account from a source account, via acommunication link at a predetermined time for a predetermined amount.

In some embodiments, receiving the ACH communication may includereceiving a request by one of an associated record holder and anassociated financial institution. For example, the system may receive arequest by one of an associated account holder and an associatedfinancial institution. For example, the source record is one of achecking account, a savings account, and a money market account, and thedestination record is one of a checking account, a savings account, anda money market account.

In some embodiments, processing the attempted communication using thepredetermined processing load offset may include the system accessingthe processing bandwidth of the destination record to determine whetherthe processing bandwidth is greater than or equal to the communicationprocessing load offset. If it is determined (e.g., by the system) thatthe processing bandwidth is greater than or equal to the communicationprocessing load offset, the system may authorize the attemptedcommunication. If it is determined (e.g., by the system) that theprocessing bandwidth is not greater than or equal to the communicationprocessing load offset, the system may perform one of denying theattempted communication, reprocessing the attempted communication, andaccessing another record for funding the attempted communication or atleast a portion of the attempted communication. Additionally oralternatively, a record holder associated with the source record and thedestination record may be presented by the system with an option ofreprocessing the attempted communication using the destination record.

The system may adjust (e.g., control circuitry of one or more of thedevices) destination record data. For example, the system may adjustdestination record data associated with the destination record byincreasing a processing bandwidth of the destination record by thepredetermined processing load offset. In some embodiments (e.g.,corresponding to the processing of an ACH transaction), the system mayadjust destination account data associated with the destination accountby increasing a balance of the destination account by the predeterminedamount.

The system may receive (e.g., control circuitry of one or more of thedevices) communication data indicating an attempted communication. Forexample, the system may, after receiving the ACH communication, receive,via the source record, communication data from a communication providerindicating an attempted communication using an ACH communication formatprovided by the source record, wherein the communication data includes acommunication processing load offset, data identifying the destinationrecord, and data identifying a communication type. In some embodiments(e.g., corresponding to the processing of an ACH transaction), thesystem may, after receiving the ACH transfer, receive, via the sourceaccount, transaction data from a merchant indicating an attemptedtransaction using an ACH transaction card (e.g., credit card or debitcard) provided by the source account, wherein the transaction dataincludes a transaction amount, data identifying the destination account,and data identifying a transaction type.

The system may process (e.g., control circuitry of one or more of thedevices) the attempted communication. For example, the system mayprocess the attempted communication using the predetermined processingload offset, wherein processing the attempted communication includesprocessing the attempted communication with an offset rate, wherein theoffset rate is a percentage of the communication processing load offset,and wherein the percentage is based on the communication type. In someembodiments (e.g., corresponding to the processing of an ACHtransaction), the system may process the attempted transaction using thepredetermined amount, wherein processing the attempted transactionincludes processing the attempted transaction with an interchange rate,wherein the interchange rate is a percentage of the transaction amount,and wherein the percentage is based on the transaction type.

In some embodiments, the system may determine the offset rate based onthe communication type. For example, processing the attemptedtransaction may include determining the interchange rate based on thetype. For example, a user at a merchant may be provided an opportunityfor selecting a credit card or debit card transaction.

In some embodiments, the system may provide an opportunity during apredetermined period to prevent the attempted communication from beingfunded by the source record. The system may receive a request to preventthe attempted communication. The system may then determine whether therequest is valid by determining whether the attempted communication wassubject to a fraud, and the system may determine whether an appropriateparty conducted the attempted communication, if the request isdetermined to be invalid, then preventing the attempted communicationfrom being funded by the source record. If the request is determined tobe valid, then approving the attempted communication to be funded withthe source record. For example, the system may check a credit line ofthe source record for determining whether the credit line is equal to orgreater than the communication processing load offset.

In some embodiments, the system may determine a processing bandwidth ofthe source record by determining whether the processing bandwidth isequal to or greater than the communication processing load offset. Thesystem may request the ACH communication includes requesting the ACHcommunication for the communication processing load offset from thesource record to the destination record via an automated cleaning housenetwork.

In some embodiments, processing the attempted communication includes thesystem determining the source record for funding the communicationprocessing load offset and requesting the ACH communication includesrequesting the ACH communication from the source record.

The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims which follow. Furthermore, itshould be noted that the features and limitations described in any oneembodiment may be applied to any other embodiment herein, and flowchartsor examples relating to one embodiment may be combined with any otherembodiment in a suitable manner, done in different orders, or done inparallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may beperformed in real time. It should also be noted that the systems and/ormethods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,other systems and/or methods.

The embodiments described above are illustrative examples of the presentapplication and it should not be construed that the present applicationis limited to these particular embodiments. Various changes andmodifications may be effected by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method for providing transitory,communication-specific access to records to determine recordmodifications when processing electronic communications through anautomated clearing house (“ACH”) over computer networks, the methodcomprising: receiving an ACH communication, at a destination record froma source record, via a communication link at a predetermined time for apredetermined amount; adjusting destination record data associated withthe destination record by increasing a balance of the destination recordby the predetermined amount; after receiving the ACH communication,receiving, via the source record, communication data from acommunication provider indicating an attempted communication using anACH communication format provided by the source record, wherein thecommunication data includes a communication amount, data identifying thedestination record, and data identifying a communication type; andprocessing the attempted communication using the predetermined amount,wherein processing the attempted communication includes processing theattempted communication with an interchange rate, wherein theinterchange rate is a percentage of the communication amount, andwherein the percentage is based on the communication type.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein receiving the ACH communication includes receiving arequest by one of an associated record holder and an associatedfinancial institution.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein: the sourcerecord is one of a checking account, a savings account, and a moneymarket account, and the destination record is one of a checking account,a savings account, and a money market account.
 5. The method of claim 2,wherein processing the attempted communication using the predeterminedamount includes: accessing the balance of the destination record todetermine whether the balance is greater than or equal to thecommunication amount, and wherein: if it is determined that the balanceis greater than or equal to the communication amount authorizing theattempted communication, and if it is determined that the balance is notgreater than or equal to the communication amount, one of denying theattempted communication, reprocessing the attempted communication, andaccessing another record for funding the attempted communication or atleast a portion of the attempted communication.
 6. The method of claim2, wherein a record holder associated with the source record and thedestination record is presented with an option of reprocessing theattempted communication using the destination record.
 7. The method ofclaim 2, wherein processing the attempted communication includesdetermining the interchange rate based on the communication type.
 8. Themethod of claim 2, wherein processing the attempted communicationincludes providing an opportunity during a predetermined period toprevent the attempted communication from being funded by the sourcerecord, receiving a request to prevent the attempted communication,determining whether the request is valid by: determining whether theattempted communication was subject to a fraud, and determining whetheran appropriate party conducted the attempted communication, if therequest is determined to be invalid then preventing the attemptedcommunication from being funded by the source record, and if the requestis determined to be valid then approving the attempted communication tobe funded with the source record.
 9. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: determining a balance of the source record by determiningwhether the balance is equal to or greater than the communicationamount, and requesting the ACH communication includes requesting the ACHcommunication for the communication amount from the source record to thedestination record via an automated cleaning house network.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein determining the source record includeschecking a credit line of the source record for determining whether thecredit line is equal to or greater than the communication amount. 11.The method of claim 2, wherein processing the attempted communicationincludes determining the source record for funding the communicationamount and requesting the ACH communication includes requesting the ACHcommunication from the source record. 12-20. (canceled)
 21. The methodof claim 2, wherein processing the attempted communication occurs aftera predetermined delay.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein thepredetermined delay is provided during a settlement phase of theattempted communication.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein thepredetermined delay commences when a payment is made to the sourcerecord.
 24. The method of claim 2, wherein processing the attemptedcommunication comprises processing the attempted communication in apredetermined sequence.